Jimmy Hanley (22 October 1918 – 13 January 1970) was an English actor who appeared in the popular Huggetts film series, and in ITV's most popular advertising magazine programme, ''Jim's Inn'', from 1957 to 1963.

Early life

Born in

Norwich Norwich () is a cathedral city and district of Norfolk, England, of which it is the county town. Norwich is by the River Wensum, about north-east of London, north of Ipswich and east of Peterborough. As the seat of the Episcopal see, See of ...

Norfolk Norfolk () is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in East Anglia in England. It borders Lincolnshire to the north-west, Cambridgeshire to the west and south-west, and Suffolk to the south. Its northern and eastern boundaries are the Nort ...

, Hanley began his career as a

child actor The term child actor or child actress is generally applied to a child acting on stage or in movies or television. An adult who began their acting career as a child may also be called a child actor, or a "former child actor". Closely associated t ...

before becoming popular in juvenile roles. He was groomed by the Rank Studio system during his teenage years and earned film stardom as a "boy-next-door" type. The young actor attended the

Italia Conti Academy of Theatre Arts The Italia Conti Academy of Theatre Arts is a performing arts conservatoire based in Woking, England. It was founded in 1911 by Italia Conti, an actress. The first production at Italia Conti Academy was the play '' Where the Rainbow Ends''. F ...

and whilst he was studying there, made his stage debut at age 12 at the

London Palladium The London Palladium () is a Grade II* West End theatre located on Argyll Street, London, in the famous area of Soho. The theatre holds 2,286 seats. Of the roster of stars who have played there, many have televised performances. Between 1955 a ...

, as John Darling in ''Peter Pan''. He began to make films in his teens.

Career

During the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

he served as an officer with the

King's Own Yorkshire Light Infantry The King's Own Yorkshire Light Infantry (KOYLI) was a light infantry regiment of the British Army. It officially existed from 1881 to 1968, but its predecessors go back to 1755. In 1968, the regiment was amalgamated with the Somerset and Cornwall ...

, and in a commando raid in

Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe, the mainland territory of which comprises the western and northernmost portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and t ...

he was wounded in the leg and was invalided out of the service. He returned to films, including '' Salute John Citizen'' (1942), ''

Henry V Henry V may refer to: People * Henry V, Duke of Bavaria (died 1026) * Henry V, Holy Roman Emperor (1081/86–1125) * Henry V, Duke of Carinthia (died 1161) * Henry V, Count Palatine of the Rhine (c. 1173–1227) * Henry V, Count of Luxembourg (12 ...

'' with

Laurence Olivier Laurence Kerr Olivier, Baron Olivier (; 22 May 1907 – 11 July 1989) was an English actor and director who, along with his contemporaries Ralph Richardson and John Gielgud, was one of a trio of male actors who dominated the British stage o ...

(1944), ''

For You Alone ''For You Alone'' is a 1945 British World War II romance melodrama, one of only two films directed by cinematographer Geoffrey Faithfull, starring Lesley Brook, Dinah Sheridan and Jimmy Hanley. The film was made by a smaller studio, Butcher' ...

'' (1945) and the Huggetts films. He later worked on radio and TV, appearing in several television series and hosting the ITV series ''Jim's Inn'' from 1957 to 1963, which combined advertising messages with the plot of a

soap opera A soap opera, or ''soap'' for short, is a typically long-running radio or television serial, frequently characterized by melodrama, ensemble casts, and sentimentality. The term "soap opera" originated from radio dramas originally being sponsored ...

, where he and his wife Maggie played the hosts of a pub where customers discussed bargains and new products whilst drinking. The series finished when advertising magazine programmes were banned.

Personal life

Hanley was married twice: *

Dinah Sheridan Dinah Sheridan (born Dinah Nadyejda Ginsburg; 17 September 1920 – 25 November 2012) was an English actress with a career spanning seven decades. She was best known for the films ''Genevieve'' (1953) and '' The Railway Children'' (1970); the lo ...

1942–1952 three children, including Jenny Hanley and the Conservative politician Sir Jeremy Hanley. The third died in infancy. * Margaret Avery (1955–1970, three daughters: Jane, Sarah and Katy) Hanley died from

pancreatic cancer Pancreatic cancer arises when cells in the pancreas, a glandular organ behind the stomach, begin to multiply out of control and form a mass. These cancerous cells have the ability to invade other parts of the body. A number of types of panc ...

in Fetcham, Surrey, on 13 January 1970, at the age of 51.

Selected filmography

* '' Red Wagon'' (1933) - Young Joe Prince * ''

Those Were the Days Those Were the Days may refer to: Music Albums * ''Those Were the Days'' (Johnny Mathis album) (1968) * ''Those Were the Days'' (Cream album) (1997) * ''Those Were the Days'' (Dolly Parton album) (2005) * '' Those Were the Days – The Best of L ...

'' (1933) - Boy with bicycle (uncredited) * '' Little Friend'' (1934) - Leonard Parry * '' Wild Boy'' (1934) - Boy With Message (uncredited) * '' Royal Cavalcade'' (1935) - Newsboy * '' Boys Will Be Boys'' (1935) - Cyril Brown * ''

Brown on Resolution ''Brown on Resolution'' is a 1929 nautical novel written by C. S. Forester, set during World War I. The hero of the novel, Leading Seaman Albert Brown, is the sole able-bodied survivor of a sunken Royal Navy warship, who single-handedly delay ...

'' (1935) - Ginger * ''

The Tunnel ''The'' () is a grammatical Article (grammar), article in English language, English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite ...

'' (1935) - Geoffrey McAllan * ''

Landslide Landslides, also known as landslips, are several forms of mass wasting that may include a wide range of ground movements, such as rockfalls, deep-seated slope failures, mudflows, and debris flows. Landslides occur in a variety of environments, ...

'' (1937) - Jimmy Haddon * '' Cotton Queen'' (1937) - Jack Owen (uncredited) * '' Night Ride'' (1937) - Dick Benson * ''

Housemaster {{refimprove, date=September 2018 In British education, a housemaster is a schoolmaster in charge of a boarding house, normally at a boarding school and especially at a public school. The housemaster is responsible for the supervision and car ...

'' (1938) - Travers * '' Coming of Age'' (1938) - Arthur Strudwick * '' There Ain't No Justice'' (1939) - Tommy Mutch * '' Gaslight'' (1940) - Cobb * '' Salute John Citizen'' (1942) - Ernest Bunting * ''

The Gentle Sex ''The Gentle Sex'' is a 1943 British black-and-white romantic comedy-drama war film, directed and narrated by Leslie Howard. It was produced by Concanen Productions, Two Cities Films, and Derrick de Marney. ''The Gentle Sex'' was Howard's last ...

'' (1943) - 1st Soldier * ''

The Way Ahead ''The Way Ahead'' (also known as ''Immortal Battalion'') (1944) is a British Second World War drama film directed by Carol Reed. The screenplay was written by Eric Ambler and Peter Ustinov. The film stars David Niven, Stanley Holloway and Willi ...

'' (1944) - Pte. Geoffrey Stainer * ''

'' (1944) - Williams - Soldier in the English Army * ''

Kiss the Bride Goodbye ''Kiss the Bride Goodbye'' is a 1945 British romantic comedy drama film directed by Paul L. Stein and starring Patricia Medina and Jimmy Hanley. Jean Simmons has an early role, almost two years before she achieved stardom in '' Great Expectati ...

'' (1945) - Jack Fowler * '' 29 Acacia Avenue'' (1945) - Peter Robinson * ''

'' (1945) - Dennis Britton * ''

Murder in Reverse? ''Murder in Reverse'' (also styled ''Murder in Reverse?'') is a 1945 British thriller film directed by Montgomery Tully and starring William Hartnell, Jimmy Hanley and Chili Bouchier. It is based on the story ''Query'' by "Seamark" (Austin J ...

'' (1945) - Peter Rogers * ''

The Captive Heart ''The Captive Heart'' is a 1946 British war drama, directed by Basil Dearden and starring Michael Redgrave. It is about a Czechoslovak Army officer who is captured in the Fall of France and spends five years as a prisoner of war, during which ...

'' (1946) - Pte. Mathews * ''

Holiday Camp A holiday camp is a type of holiday accommodation that encourages holidaymakers to stay within the site boundary, and provides entertainment and facilities for them throughout the day. Since the 1970s, the term has fallen out of favour with term ...

'' (1947) - Jimmy Gardner * '' Master of Bankdam'' (1947) - Simeon Crowther Jr. * '' It Always Rains on Sunday'' (1947) - Whitey * ''Nothing Venture'' (1948) - Introduction to serial version * ''

It's Hard to Be Good ''It's Hard to Be Good'' is a 1948 British comedy film directed by Jeffrey Dell and starring Jimmy Hanley, Anne Crawford and Raymond Huntley. In the film, an ex-army officer finds his altruistic attempts to improve the world are unsuccessful. ...

'' (1947) - Captain James Gladstone Wedge VC * '' Here Come the Huggetts'' (1948) - Jimmy Gardner * '' The Huggetts Abroad'' (1949) - Jimmy Gardner * '' Don't Ever Leave Me'' (1949) - Jack Denton * '' Boys in Brown'' (1949) - Bill Foster * ''

The Blue Lamp ''The Blue Lamp'' is a 1950 British police procedural film directed by Basil Dearden and starring Jack Warner as PC Dixon, Jimmy Hanley as newcomer PC Mitchell, and Dirk Bogarde as criminal Tom Riley. The title refers to the blue lamps that ...

'' (1950) - PC Andy Mitchell * '' Room to Let'' (1950) - Curly Minter * '' The Galloping Major'' (1951) - Bill Collins, Bus Driver * '' Radio Cab Murder'' (1954) - Fred Martin * ''

The Black Rider ''The Black Rider: The Casting of the Magic Bullets'' is a self-billed "musical fable" in the avant-garde tradition created through the collaboration of theatre director Robert Wilson, musician Tom Waits, and writer William S. Burroughs. W ...

'' (1954) - Jerry Marsh * '' The Deep Blue Sea'' (1955) - Dicer Durston * '' Satellite in the Sky'' (1956) - Larry * '' The Lost Continent'' (1968) - Patrick, the Bartender

Television series

* ''Jim's Inn'' (1957–1963, ITV advertising programme) - host * '' Five O'Clock Club'' (1963–1966, ITV children's programme) - host * ''Futurama'' (1964, ITV children's science programme) - host * '' Crossroads'' (1966, ITV soap) - Jimmy Gudgeon, old friend of central character Meg Richardson (played by Noele Gordon)

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Hanley, Jimmy 1918 births 1970 deaths King's Own Yorkshire Light Infantry officers 20th-century English male actors English male stage actors English male film actors English male television actors British Army personnel of World War II British Army Commandos officers Deaths from pancreatic cancer Deaths from cancer in England Military personnel from Norwich